I think there have always been funny women from Carol Burnett to Joan Rivers. When the audience sees a woman they innately know she's worked twice as hard to get there she's had to prove that she can be the leader first and then be funny on top of it. She has to emit a confidence that she's in control.
Perfect as the wing of a bird may be it will never enable the bird to fly if unsupported by the air. Facts are the air of science. Without them a man of science can never rise.